’Comedy needs no policing’

In town for his India tour kicking off this week, Russell Peters talks social media, the Indian immigrant culture in comedy and why he won't be doing political shows any time soon

'Comedy needs no policing'

Russell Peters

It's a busy day for Russell Peters. Bringing The Deported World Tour to India, he will be performing in Bengaluru, Delhi, and finally in Mumbai next week as part of Supermoon, an intellectual platform. He's an hour late and it's understandable. What doesn't make sense, though, is his team's insistence on screening our questions beforehand — especially when you market someone who wouldn't endorse getting his material vetted before performing on stage. In sharp contrast to most of us, Peters is cheery-faced on a Monday noon at a Lower Parel five-star, where we meet.

The scene
Peters began his stand-up career in Toronto back in 1989 — navigating through daytime jobs at shoe stores and DJing at night. Today, he figures on the list of the highest-paid comedians in the world. "You've been in the game for 30 years. Does it ever get exhausting?" we ask, and he is quick to answer, "No, it doesn't at all. I feel that when you really love what you do, you don't really feel that way."

While a buzz of instructions for our photographer to click "upwards" surround the room, Peters jokes about getting clicked by a drone. "It's all bad down here," he laughs. It's almost a metaphor for his next sentence. "Because there are so many good comics making comedy look easy, there's a lot of regular people who think they can just jump into it. What they're failing to understand is that the guys who make it look easy have been in the business for at least 20 to 30 years," he laments.

Russell Peters

The Indian immigrant
Race and identity have been central to Peters' works. Since his acts, a slew of comedians including Aziz Ansari, Hasan Minhaj and Lilly Singh have delved into the Indian immigrant culture. But Peters maintains he never talks about these themes in a broad sense. "I can only talk about myself. So when I'm doing things about Indian culture, I draw from how I have seen things and how I was raised while Aziz, Hasan and Lilly do things from their perspective. And that's what makes it wonderful. There's no right or wrong way of doing it, if you're doing it for the right reasons. If you have something inside you that says, 'I'm a comic and I need to be on stage', that's when you should be doing it. Success should never be a motivation."

A necessary evil
One world that Peters says he can't figure out, is that of social media. "You look at the amount of tickets I sell around the world and how many people come and see me, and my social media numbers don't add up to that. My Instagram followers are only 3,01,000. There are people I meet, who I've never heard of in my life, and they have 5,00,000 followers. What am I doing wrong? Personally if I didn't have to be on social media, I wouldn't. I find it to be a pain in the a** but it's a necessary evil," he laments.

On politics
Peters is a stranger to the Indian comedy "scene". He doesn't follow anyone. So, we proceed to ask him, given our political regime, what he feels about the role of a comedian in a society averse to dissent and opinions. Without giving any direct references, Peters states, "Comedians are supposed to be the last truth tellers. We say things the real way, not in a wishy-washy way. We're the last people to be able to do that and they're trying to take that away from us. But if you're a real comic, that can't be taken away. It's like you're trying to make me not be me."

If you're wondering whether Peters will pull a Patriot Act, like Minhaj, the answer is no. "You can get it on TV, 24 hours a day. You don't need to hear about it from me too... I'm going to take you to a different place," he says, adding that his tour will delve into his personal life. "It's very easy to answer why the world needs comedy. But what does the world of comedy need?" we question Peters. "The world of comedy needs no policing. Let us police ourselves. Comedy is about intent. You should be able to tell that by the tone of the person's voice and the look in their eyes. Because if you read my act you'd think I'm a horrible human being," he explains.

It's still Bombay
With a father who was born in Mumbai and raised in Burhanpur in Madhya Pradesh, Peters has been coming to Mumbai since he was six. But for him, stand-up comedy will always belong in a comedy club, like his heart will in Burhanpur. "It's really in the jungle. The closest train station is Lalbagh and then it's a half-an-hour journey to my grandmother's place. When I was a little kid, everybody would have to walk around with a little gun because of the wildlife — snakes, tigers, leopards, and wild boars. There wasn't even running water, but it was so cool! That's the India I knew," he recollects, turning back to the present day and where we're seated. "I come now and I'm staying in these five-star hotels. People act like this is normal. This isn't normal for me. It's amazing and I appreciate it, but it's a bit overwhelming at times. It's not the India I ever knew existed. So, I'm making fun of this Hollywood version of India, not the real India. It's not something I can comprehend."

Quick takes
. Describe Mumbai in one word.
Amazing

. Your favourite place in the city.
Bandra

. The best place to eat.
None, hotels have such amazing buffets. Every time I find a hotel with a great buffet, I find another one with a great buffet.

. Okay, you're walking around Bandra. Who is the one person you'd like to run into?
Whenever I'm in Bandra I do run into people. But I'd like to run into one of those auto rickshaw guys.

On June 2 and 3, 6.30 pm
At: Dome, NSCI, SVP Stadium, Worli.
Log on to insider.in
Cost Rs 999 onwards

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